Love Like A Butterfly
by Lawliet Veneziano
Summary: There are lessons in life that sometimes even immortals never fully learn. Sometimes even especially them. Lessons like what to do when you love someone who never even sees you as anything less than a monster. The Goblin King who always takes what he wants, yet can never get what he most desires, finds that it takes a would-be queen to teach him this. JarethxOC friendship inside


Vene: Hey normally we don't do our AN until the end but needed to say something first; this is NOT a JarethxOC romance, not yet at least. It's still a JarethxSarah; it's simply a friendship fic between Jareth and the OC for now. This might or might not change depending on what feedback we get and if we feel like changing it. Otherwise the romance is between Jareth and Sarah. Anyway enjoy!~

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The reasons for the Goblin King himself being out in the Aboveground at that time of night, so far from where his beloved Sarah's house even was, so far from his usual places to hide and watch, were probably more simple than he cared to think; why he of all people had decided to take on the task put up in the air by the King of the entire Underground could easily be explained by it. He needed a distraction. That was the reason, the only reason; many simply believed that it made logical sense that the Goblin King, who ruled the lost, the forgotten, the ones left behind, would be sent to retrieve this particular person, but even they had to admit that he being so willing to do so, even when it had nothing to do with the human girl he found himself so enamoured with, was quite perplexing still.

But once more he needed the distraction; he loved her, he really did, with every fiber of his being and every moment of the day, and that was the biggest issue. Because he loved her so completely and never got any love in return; sure he didn't exactly go about showing or expressing said love every well, he'd admit to it being wrong to kidnap and hold her baby brother hostage though he found he rather enjoyed watching Toby and as such was always listening for when Sarah, in her moments of exhaustion and exasperation, would wish him away again. He'd already claimed the boy again twice, once during a rather uncomfortably hot summer day when the infant couldn't stop screaming and another during important test studying when even the occasional crying had worn at nerves already frayed to ends; each time Sarah had come and gotten Toby back of course but not before Jareth had gotten some quality time with the child. He reacted so positively to the goblins after all and seemed to enjoy getting thrown thirty feet in the air as long as he got caught; the third time he'd been rescued actually the boy started crying, as did the goblins. A compromise had to be made and Toby was allowed to come back every so often to play and while that did please Jareth a bit, as it allowed him to both watch the rather precocious child and see his dear Sarah more often, it also made it worse. Because it still was that the human girl never seemed to acknowledge his feelings for her; she acted still like he was some sort of monster, evil despite the fact that no harm had come to either her or her brother. Would never have come to either her or her brother. Yet that didn't reach her.

So when during the annual meeting of the rulers of the Underworld he had heard of this current issue, he had done something unexpected of him; he volunteered to go and thus found himself sitting out in the cold night air of the humans' world in his owl form, waiting for a sign of the one he was searching out. According to the information, and there wasn't much, the child he seeked was not human or at least not fully so; he had heard about the kingdom they belonged to, a strange realm of darkness and light, full of creatures that looked human at times but were anything but. The demon kingdom, not all that far from the lands of the goblins and the Labyrinth in reality; their king had gone missing quite a while before, as Jareth remembered, and no one had seen hide nor hair of him since. The Goblin King had never fully understood, known or truthfully cared about the reasons but one rumor, that apparently was true, had struck him; that the demon king had abandoned his land, his powers, everything all for the love of a human woman. The child was the proof of it and obviously this was something for Jareth to feel a bit jealous over; his own love for a mortal wasn't even acknowledged, not to even mentioned returned, and yet there had been another like him who had loved a human as well and found it returned in full. Owl feathers ruffled in frustration at this thought and if he could he would have frowned; the thought didn't stay for long, soon banished by something. A person was approaching the house he was watching, a house he was sure was where the child lived; his attention was drawn again and he noticed it was a female, a girl maybe a year or so older than his Sarah. Long black hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing what seemed to be a slightly baggy t-shirt and jeans with a messenger bag slung across her body and what looked to be a long blue bag slung the opposite direction; she looked normal enough, if not a bit tomboyish, and for a moment Jareth felt his guard lower. Then the girl stopped before the house and turned a bit, looking through her bag for something and he noticed something about her; she wore glasses and behind the clear lenses her eyes were a vibrant red, a color no mortal should have. An eye color known to be found though in the bloodline of a certain missing king.

Ruffling his feathers again, the owl king took off from his tree branch approaching the house and the girl; she pulled out a key, moving to unlock the door when the sound of wings caught her attention and she turned in time to see something magical. The owl became a man, gently floating to the ground, his cape fluttering in just the slightest way; to his surprise she didn't look startled or anything by him. She was sort of surprised she wasn't startled either truthfully.

"Hello," she said taking the initiative; her voice was clear and unafraid, seeming to be intrigued but not confused by him.

"Greetings," he responded and smiled a bit in his way before giving the slightest of bows, "May I come in?"

"Do you have a reason to come in?" It was something not often spoken to him. Then again he didn't often ask to enter someone's house; he would anyway when he came to grant theirs wish of taking something of theirs away. He was taken aback by it and heard in her voice a sort of stubborn strength that reminded him of the girl he loved; smiling a bit, he nodded, "I am hoping to talk to you and going inside seems like the best recourse."

She seemed to be think on that for a moment or so, "I don't know you; why should I trust you in my house?"  
"I mean you no harm; I'm simply here about something involving your father." That got to her; he saw a sort of recognization shine in her eyes and she blinked at Jareth, her mistrust melting in a moment of light happiness and gentle sadness.

"…Come in then," she said finally, the mistrust returning in a smaller amount, and she unlocked the door, opening it for him; he smiled and grabbed the door, holding it from above her hand.

"Ladies first." She stared at him then shrugged and walked inside, followed by the Goblin King; he shut the door behind him.

The inside was quiet, well-furnished and dark until she turned on the light; a pile of mail lay on a table by the doorway next to a vase with a rose on it and a picture frame that was flipped down. Raising an eye at it he reached out to pick it up and look it over but the girl spoke first, calling him over to join her in the next room; he walked over and into the living room. A few books seemed to be scattered in places, obviously the type who enjoyed stories; the fireplace seemed to be already burning and he could tell from her face she wasn't surprised, "Who else lives with you?" He knew for fact that her parents had died, which was why he'd been sent to retrieve this child.

"My brother Akito; he should be sleeping upstairs but obviously he came down to start the fireplace again," she said and sighed; she let it be, sitting down on one of the couches, setting her bags down.

The talk of her having a brother surprised him; there had been nothing on that. Perhaps the boy was the one he was supposed to collect then, not the girl, "Your brother?"  
She nodded then threw him a stern look, a look he recognized; Sarah had given it to him enough times for him to know it as the look of a protective sibling, "Yes my brother, don't even try to bother him though; he's not well and I won't have strangers upsetting him with talk of our father. It's not good for his health."

"He's not healthy then," Jareth inquired and stayed standing, looking down at the girl.

"No…he's not. But you didn't come to talk about him; what was it about my father you came here about? He's been dead for quite a while now so if you were wanting to see him then I'm sorry to tell you that he is no longer living," she said and her tone turned sad when she spoke of her father.

He gave a small smile and shook his head, "No, I didn't come to speak to him; I wished to talk to his heir."

She looked at him with some confusion, "Heir? Um I suppose that would be me, I mean I was named such in his will but what would that have to do with you, mister?"

Jareth almost twitched; Mister? Seriously? It made him feel sort of old to be called such and he realized that he hadn't given his name. Nor gotten hers yet, "You may call me Jareth."

"Jareth," she spoke, as if trying out the name.

"Yes. May I inquire your name?"  
"Tsukkuyomi, my name is Tsukkuyomi. Though I suppose you could just call me Tsuki," she answered him with mild hesitation.

Jareth smiled and leaned down, taking her hand in his gently. Kissing the top of her hand he spoke softly, "A please, Tsuki my dear."

A blush crossed her face and Tsuki pulled away immediately, frowning slightly at him, "You're strange."

"So I am told at times." He then took a seat beside her, staying close. Or trying as she immediately scooted away, giving them space between them as if bothered with being too close to him; this in it's own way amused the Goblin King and he smirked a bit, "Now then, as you are his heir, I suppose then that makes you the one I'm supposed to bring back with me."  
"Bring…back…bring back where?" Tsuki asked, moving even more away, feeling quite uncomfortable with his words.

"Tsuki, do you know who your father was? What he was? What you actually are?"

"My father was Kurohoshi Kokuryuu, he was a private detective who-"  
"No, he wasn't."  
She frowned, "I'm sure I would know better than a stranger who my father was."  
"I doubt he told you the truth," Jareth informed her, "He was Kurohoshi indeed but he was no detective," whatever that was, Jareth wasn't too sure, "he was a king."  
She was quiet for a moment, giving him a look that plainly said she thought he was insane; he choose to ignore it as she spoke, her tone anything but believing, "Right. My dad was a king. Where was he king of?"  
"Not where so much as what, my dear."

"Then what?"  
"He was the King of the Demons, one of the rulers of the Underground, a being far greater than human," he told her and leaned closer, his smirk back in place, "And you, my sweet, as his heir, are now the new ruler in his place, the Demon Queen."

"You must be joking," she said and laughed a bit, "Or insane. I mean really, demons? Simply fairy tales and legends; I don't really believe in any of that."

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly and shook his head, "I'm sure your subjects will be very sad to hear their own queen doesn't believe in them."

She rolled her eyes, "Come on, it's not real. Why should I believe you? It's not like I've ever seen a demon before."

"Hm, well, what if you saw something else unbelievable, something that's 'simply fairy tales and legends', would that maybe open up your mind a little to the possibility?" Jareth inquired of her.

Tsukkuyomi shrugged a little, "Like what?"

"Like how about…a goblin?"

"A goblin? Hm…fine. If you can show me a goblin then I'll at least admit that demons could exist." Taking it as both a victory and a challenge, the king's smirk grew a little and once more he was on his feet; he held out a hand to her, "Then would you like to see my Labyrinth?"

She furrowed her brow, obviously confused by his apparent change in subject, "I…suppose?"  
"Is that a wish?"

"I guess," Tsukkuyomi said, starting to feel uncomfortable again.

"Then say so." He couldn't just transport her there after all without a wish of some sort of hers; the Aboveground could be so restricting in that fashion.

Hesitating she didn't speak for a moment, and he thought she never would say it, until she finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper and he could feel the crackling of power as the words left her lips, "I wish to see your Labyrinth."

Smirking a crystal appeared in his hand and the magic did it's work; before they disappeared from the house, Tsukkuyomi heard him say one last thing, "As you wish then."

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Vene: And there's our first chapter of our first Labyrinth fanfic!~ I'm so excited.

Nihon: Hm, please review and tell us what you think.

Vene: Yup but for now, bye-bi!~

Tsukkuyomi*getting whisked away to the Labyrinth* Nyah!


End file.
